The 75 Best Practice Areas

[Ben Kodadek]

Windsong Farm in Independence, MN is about as good as it gets.  It's one of the few courses where I make a point to get there well before I go out.  Isn't that what it is all about?  Enjoying the facility...

[Tim Copeland]

And how are they rating these?

A few months ago we recieved a request to submit courses with the best practice areas.   About a month later we recieved a second email asking to vote on the courses that had been submitted.  I believe it was a 1 to 10 scale, maybe 1-5.   Possibly we voted on our own top 10, somebody is going to have to remind me?

It's to a certain extent is hap hazard since when I go to a course I normally hit a few balls and then play.  I really don't concentrate or focus on the range.

With that said I voted Stanford #1 which is technically the best range I have ever seen.   There is not one other practice facility that has 3 different types of grass (Bermuda, bent or fescue), bunkers with different types (fine or rough grain) of sand and 6 different types of bunker styles to practice at.   

Doesnt Isleworth have several different bunker styles and several differnt turfgrasses on theis practice area? A request because they have so many pros that play out of their?

Tony Nysse
Asst. Supt.
Colonial CC
ft. Worth, TX

Isleworth has 3 different bunker sands(at least that is what we installed when we built it)......Isleworth sand that is on the course(Pro/Angle) Augusta National sand in 1 bunker and TPC Sawgrass in 1 other.  all the grasses on the greens and practice/short game area are bermuda.  It was built for all the pros there....but one in particular had power to veto any change that the 14 designers of the short game area made.

[Anthony_Nysse]

And how are they rating these?

A few months ago we recieved a request to submit courses with the best practice areas.   About a month later we recieved a second email asking to vote on the courses that had been submitted.  I believe it was a 1 to 10 scale, maybe 1-5.   Possibly we voted on our own top 10, somebody is going to have to remind me?

It's to a certain extent is hap hazard since when I go to a course I normally hit a few balls and then play.  I really don't concentrate or focus on the range.

With that said I voted Stanford #1 which is technically the best range I have ever seen.   There is not one other practice facility that has 3 different types of grass (Bermuda, bent or fescue), bunkers with different types (fine or rough grain) of sand and 6 different types of bunker styles to practice at.   

Doesnt Isleworth have several different bunker styles and several differnt turfgrasses on theis practice area? A request because they have so many pros that play out of their?

Tony Nysse
Asst. Supt.
Colonial CC
ft. Worth, TX

Isleworth has 3 different bunker sands(at least that is what we installed when we built it)......Isleworth sand that is on the course(Pro/Angle) Augusta National sand in 1 bunker and TPC Sawgrass in 1 other.  all the grasses on the greens and practice/short game area are bermuda.  It was built for all the pros there....but one in particular had power to veto any change that the 14 designers of the short game area made.

Tim,
  I thought that you had commented before about your work there. Thanks for clarifying. Who was the guy with veto power?

[Chuck Brown]

My first thought, when I saw this edition arrive over the weekend, was that the editors must have been reading GCA.  We've done "best practice facilities" in at least a couple of threads in the last six months.

[John_Conley]

Lake Nona just has a driving range.  Windsong Farm?  Played there but don't recall anything special as far as the practice area goes.

All is right in the world.  The 50 acres at Orange County are down the list from the 22 or so at World Woods.  The range at World Woods is awesome.  The range at OCN is just big.  I will say, however, that it is most capable of handling that massive demo day around the time of the PGA Show.  (Golfest or something.)

[Richard Hetzel]

I wonder why this one never made the list?

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

OMG What a joke. This may be the worst GD ever, even more than state by state or Erin Hills. I will only note ones I have been to that do not belong in anyones top 75, forget where GD puts them. Olympic Club which I am a Member of. Who is kidding who. We have at best an ok driving range with good chipping areas but no real 100 yard and in areas, unless you call the Cliffs course part of practice area. Chanpions is better than Olympic in my  personal club list but not sure it is tops. Mountain Lake is worthy. Lake Nona, Sawgrass, Stone Canyon,  Calusa Pines and Shoal Creek with only a quick glance say no no no to top list. Bandon YES

[JR Potts]

Tiger - I agree 100%.  To suggest that Butler's driving range is in the top 75 is a joke.  I love the place more than my own home but the range is nothing more than a polo field.  You can't tell if you're hitting it 200 yards or 300 yards.  I love the chipping area off of the first tee but come on.  And to have Isleworth that low is just criminal.  The practice facility is awesome...plus you often practice next to Arjun Atwal, Paula Creamer, Tiger Woods, Mark O'Meara, Charles Howell III, Ryan Longwell, etc.  It's one of a kind....and it blows that range at Lake Nona out of the water.

Also, I was at Pine Needles last week and I wasn't blown away by the range.  It was fine but it faced straight into the morning sun and was a little too open without a lot of targets.  That said, I LOVED the course and property.

Shadow Creek....nope.

I could go on and on.

This list has no standing as far as I'm concerned.

[jeffwarne]

Doral???
I guess if you like dirt and mats

[Adam Russell]

I have caddied at Reynolds Plantation for four years and I have no idea where  our "practice area" is...

[Bob_Huntley]

The shag range at MPCC, it beats the fancy one up at the Club.

Nothing fancy but a gorgeous vista over the coast and Pacific.


Bob

[Mike Sweeney]

The shag range at MPCC, it beats the fancy one up at the Club.

Nothing fancy but a gorgeous vista over the coast and Pacific.


Bob

It was 45 degrees and spritzing rain all day in New York today. I was pretty excited when I was able to squeeze in a small bucket of balls at Randalls Island my "home" club here:



Uncle Bob is really stickin it to me tonight!!!

[Steve Salmen]

The practice area to the right of the driving range at Kingsley was very good.  I believe you could recreate almost any short shot.

[Mark Smolens]

Even more comical about the listing of Butler National at # 75 is the fact that the club doesn't even own the property upon which the actual range is located.  Apparently when Mr. (Paul) Butler gave the land adjacent to his golf course to the Village -- in return for being allowed to build his course in a flood plain -- he didn't believe that a "championship" course needed a driving range.  Butler National pays the Village of Oak Brook a fairly substantial amount (I believe that it's $50k per year -- a nice shot in the arm for the next-door municipal course's budget) for the right to use the polo field. . . except on Sundays in the summer when they actually have polo games (matches?).  On those days, Butler members share the back end of the municipal course's range with us peons.

The Butler wedge range is very nice, but the range is ordinary at best.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

One that they certainly missed was The Blessings in Fayetteville Arkansas.
3 types of grass to hit off
3 types of sand in the bunkers
both bent and bermuda putting greens...
spacious target greens

udes by the University of Arkansas golf team...a truly great driving range.

I agree with the Pine Needles evaluation...very ordinary range but really good parctice holes at the far end of the range.
This is probabaly what the raters were thinking of.



Alos...yes it appears that Fazio is the man for practice facilities, those at Dallas National and Briggs Ranch are phenomenal...

[jonathan_becker]

Even more comical about the listing of Butler National at # 75 is the fact that the club doesn't even own the property upon which the actual range is located.  Apparently when Mr. (Paul) Butler gave the land adjacent to his golf course to the Village -- in return for being allowed to build his course in a flood plain -- he didn't believe that a "championship" course needed a driving range.  Butler National pays the Village of Oak Brook a fairly substantial amount (I believe that it's $50k per year -- a nice shot in the arm for the next-door municipal course's budget) for the right to use the polo field. . . except on Sundays in the summer when they actually have polo games (matches?).  On those days, Butler members share the back end of the municipal course's range with us peons.

The Butler wedge range is very nice, but the range is ordinary at best.

Something else to add.....The lengh of the range seems like it's 500 yards long and is perfectly flat. Another thing to add is that there are no greens to hit to at butler's range, just flagsticks in the ground.  Furthermore, on the days that the back end of the range is used, it's littered with oak brook junior soccer games.  Every now and again, you'll see a few women walking the edge of the property with their kids for soccer games.  It's funny because everyone looks at the women like, "You can look, but don't you even dare about trying to step foot on our grounds!" 

I used to loop there for extra cash back in the day.

[Bill Brightly]

Metedeconk National Golf Club is the best I've ever seen.

Ditto, took the words right out of my mouth.

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